O.J. Simpson, a former champion football running back-turned-actor, has passed away at the age of 76 after battling cancer. His family confirmed his death on his official X account and requested privacy and grace during this difficult time. Despite being acquitted of charges in a sensational trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, Simpson was found liable in a civil suit brought by the victims’ families three years later.
Born in San Francisco, Simpson rose to fame winning the Heisman Trophy while at USC before setting records in the NFL while playing for the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills. He began acting while still at USC and appeared in films such as “The Klansman”, “The Cassandra Crossing”, and “The Towering Inferno”, as well as the miniseries “Roots”. After retiring from football, he starred in movies such as the “Naked Gun” series and “Back to the Beach”, and was working on the series “Frogmen” before his arrest put an end to the project.
Following the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1994, Simpson became a person of interest and charges were filed against him. A media frenzy ensued when he attempted to flee in a white Ford Bronco, leading to a slow-speed chase with police that was televised and watched by millions of people. Despite being found not guilty in the criminal trial, Simpson was later found liable in a civil suit and ordered to pay damages to the victims’ families. He also served almost nine years in prison for robbery, kidnapping, and other charges related to a sports memorabilia scheme in Las Vegas before being released in 2017.
Simpson’s life and legal troubles have been chronicled in Hollywood films and docuseries, including the Oscar-winning documentary “O.J.: Made in America” and FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”. Sacha Baron Cohen also attempted to get a confession out of Simpson in a memorable interview for his 2018 Showtime series “Who Is America?”. In 2021, Simpson was released early from parole for good behavior. His legacy remains controversial and continues to captivate public interest.
